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December 2012

December 31, 2012

“The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.” -- John Foster Dulles, former Secretary of State

On behalf of the entire VanEd team, we want to wish you and yours happiness and success in the coming year. And as we prepare for years end, we want you to know that we truly appreciate your business. Thank you for your continued support.

Over the past few years the real estate industry has faced incredible challenges. We have seen new laws, new rules and enhanced regulation affect and change the landscape of real estate. This has affected not only real estate licensees but also appraisers and mortgage brokers. And it has affected education as well. But as we reflect upon this past year we realize that while the issues we face are difficult, we do not have the same problems that we had last year. And that, in and of itself, is a sign of progress.

Last year we wrote to you and let you know that looking ahead we saw great opportunity, and in 2012 we embraced that with our students and affiliates as we continued to encourage them to be successful. We believe that even more challenges are in store for the real estate industry in the coming year but that the industry is now poised to handle those challenges and create overall growth and individual success among those involved. We are working behind the scenes to help our students and affiliates take advantage of these new opportunities.

So thank you for calling us, visiting our website, subscribing to our Newslog and becoming a fan on social media. We greatly appreciate you being our customer and we look forward to being your resource far into the future.

Our entire team is dedicated to serving the best interests of our students, so if you have any questions or ideas for how we might better serve you, feel free to contact us. Today, and for almost 15 years now, we are here to help.

Here's to your success and peace in the coming year. May you find, and leave, Joy wherever you go.

Sincerely,

C. Vann Hilty, CRS, CDEI Burton Lee, MAI, CDEI

Have questions or comments? Let us know with an email at info@vaned.com

The most successful people in Real Estate use VanEd. See what they say by clicking here.

December 28, 2012

From all of us at VanEd, we wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday weekend. As a reminder, we will be open on Monday, December 31st. Our offices will be closed on January 1st, 2013 and will re-open January 2nd, 2012 for regular business hours. Instructors will still be available online for student support via our online Q & A's during the holiday weekend. You can also contact staff via email at info@vaned.com.

Earlier today we had quite a response to our email about the deadline to complete the CREC Update, Colorado Broker Transition and Ethics CE courses this year and so we just wanted to clarify a few questions that have come up:

You have received this email only because our records indicate that you hadn't taken the 2012 CREC Update course through VanEd this year--but many of you will fall into different categories where you indeed don't need that Update course (for instance if your license is on inactive status, if you have already completed a 24 hour (or more) course that covers all the requirements, or if you took thecourse through another provider, etc).

We just want to remind you that the Update course does expire December 31st, so if you do still need to take it, you have through midnight on Monday to sign up and complete it. (This year marks a few confusing developments as the Colorado Division of Real Estate is also expiring the 24 hour Colorado Broker Transition course, so that course must also be completed by Monday if you are currentlyenrolled.)

The education requirements for active brokers in Colorado is: 24 hours of CE in every three year license cycle. That 24 hours must include 12 hours of the CREC update course (which works out to three 4-hour courses, essentially one per year). You can only take the Update courses within the calendar year they are offered, and your other 12 elective hours can be completed anytime prior to your license expiration.

December 27, 2012

The Oklahoma Association of REALTORS® (OAR) Real Estate School is now offering all 90 hours of required education toward a broker's license in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Broker License Education program, is available entirely online and can be found online at http://www.oklahomarealestatelicensing.com.

Students needing to upgrade to the Broker License level and registering for this program will be introduced to the following concepts;

Land Use Controls

Contracts, Agency and Fair Housing

Financing and Settlement

Oklahoma Brokerage Relationship Act, and

Laws and Rules affecting Oklahoma Real Estate Practice

Exam Prep is also included with this program for those who are upgrading thier license and need to pass the Broker's Examination in Oklahoma. Candidate Handbooks will also be provided. Other materials included in this program include;

The OAR Study Guide

The Oklahoma Real Estate Commission Manual, hereinafter referred to as "Manual" or "REM"

The reference book Modern Real Estate Practice by Fillmore W. Galaty, Wellington J. Allaway, and Robert C. Kyle, 18th Edition

December 26, 2012

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2013 loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration, Mortgage Daily reported Dec. 10.

The national floor limit is set at 65 percent of the national conforming limit, which is $271,050 for single-family properties and $347,000 for duplexes. The limit climbs to $419,425 for triplexes and $521,250 for four-unit homes.

For regions with high-cost designations, the single-family limit has been set at $729,750. For four-unit properties, that limit is $1,403,400.

Mortgage Daily reported that Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands enjoy special exceptions. The FHA loan limit for single-family properties in these locations is $1,094,625, and four-unit properties can be financed for amounts as high as $2,105,100.

December 21, 2012

From all of us at VanEd, we wish you and yours the happiest of Holiday Seasons.

Van Education Center offices will be closed December 24th and 25th. We will be open again on December 26th. For students working online, please post all questions in the Q & A's. You may also search the Q & A's to see if your question has already been answered there!

Happy Holidays!

“(Holiday) gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.”

--Oren Arnold, novelist, journalist, and humorist

For up to the minute industry information or to receive special promotion and discount offers connect with us online at any of our other social networks listed below!

December 20, 2012

NAR Cheif Economist Lawrence Yun and NAR Economist Danielle Hale discuss a brief history that led to the fiscall cliff, including the automatic triggers that are set to take effect if no deal is reached. This might mean the Mortgage Interest Deduction is altered or removed entirely. This discussion was posted on December 10th.

WASHINGTON — Individuals and businesses making contributions to charity should keep in mind some key tax provisions that have taken effect in recent years, especially those affecting donations of clothing and household items and monetary donations.

Rules for Clothing and Household Items

To be deductible, clothing and household items donated to charity generally must be in good used condition or better. A clothing or household item for which a taxpayer claims a deduction of over $500 does not have to meet this standard if the taxpayer includes a qualified appraisal of the item with the return. Household items include furniture, furnishings, electronics, appliances and linens.

Guidelines for Monetary Donations

To deduct any charitable donation of money, regardless of amount, a taxpayer must have a bank record or a written communication from the charity showing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. Bank records include canceled checks, bank or credit union statements, and credit card statements. Bank or credit union statements should show the name of the charity, the date, and the amount paid. Credit card statements should show the name of the charity, the date, and the transaction posting date.

Donations of money include those made in cash or by check, electronic funds transfer, credit card andpayroll deduction. For payroll deductions, the taxpayer should retain a pay stub, a Form W-2 wage statement or other document furnished by the employer showing the total amount withheld for charity, along with the pledge card showing the name of the charity.

These requirements for the deduction of monetary donations do not change the long-standing requirement that a taxpayer obtain an acknowledgment from a charity for each deductible donation (either money or property) of $250 or more. However, one statement containing all of the required information may meet both requirements.

Reminders

To help taxpayers plan their holiday-season and year-end giving, the IRS offers the following additional reminders:

Contributions are deductible in the year made. Thus, donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2012 count for 2012. This is true even if the credit card bill isn’t paid until 2013. Also, checks count for 2012 as long as they are mailed in 2012.

Check that the organization is qualified. Only donations to qualified organizations are tax-deductible. Exempt Organization Select Check, a searchable online database available on IRS.gov, lists most organizations that are qualified to receive deductible contributions. In addition, churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and government agencies are eligible to receive deductible donations, even if they are not listed in the database.

For individuals, only taxpayers who itemize their deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A can claim deductions for charitable contributions. This deduction is not available to individuals who choose the standard deduction, including anyone who files a short form (Form 1040A or 1040EZ). A taxpayer will have a tax savings only if the total itemized deductions (mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local taxes, etc.) exceed the standard deduction. Use the 2012 Form 1040 Schedule A to determine whether itemizing is better than claiming the standard deduction.

For all donations of property, including clothing and household items, get from the charity, if possible, a receipt that includes the name of the charity, date of the contribution, and a reasonably-detailed description of the donated property. If a donation is left at a charity’s unattended drop site, keep a written record of the donation that includes this information, as well as the fair market value of the property at the time of the donation and the method used to determine that value. Additional rules apply for a contribution of $250 or more.

The deduction for a motor vehicle, boat or airplane donated to charity is usually limited to the gross proceeds from its sale. This rule applies if the claimed value is more than $500. Form 1098-C, or a similar statement, must be provided to the donor by the organization and attached to the donor’s tax return.

If the amount of a taxpayer’s deduction for all noncash contributions is over $500, a properly-completed Form 8283 must be submitted with the tax return.

December 18, 2012

There is still time to complete the update course! The 2012 Colorado Real Estate Commission Annual Update Course for real estate brokers is online and available at VanEd. This year the DRE sought input from no only the education task force but also E&O Insurance providers (including RIC, the state's group policy carrier). This years course covers advertising on social media, new forms and contracts that real estate professionals must now use and a host of new position statements. Van Education Center is an approved provider with the Colorado Division of Real Estate and the course is live and available online today.

In any three-year license renewal cycle brokers need to take this course annually (3 times) to equal 12 hours of Update Course credit as part of the 24 hours of total education required.

This course is presented without modification as required by the Colorado Real Estate Commission (CREC). This will be the only CREC Annual Update course offered by the CREC in 2012.

Students will also be introduced to various concepts, including:

compliance issues for real estate brokers

general practice issues

new and proposed regulations

and of course the ever popular Consumer Tips section

Don't let the year slip away... take the CREC Annual Update Course before December 31st to meet the Commission requirements. Log on today to learn this timely and valuable information and to prepare yourself for future success. >>> Click Here for more information! You can also find this course in our Real Estate License renewal packages for Colorado Brokers.

Have questions or comments? Let us know! Send us an email at info@vaned.comAnd don't forget to follow the VanEd NewsLog, fan, like and link with us online!

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December 17, 2012

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” - Buddha

Buddha said that back in the mid 5th century, B.C., and while he probably wasn’t talking about prospecting for real estate business, his words apply perfectly to prospecting for real estate business!

We real estate agents are bombarded with tips, tricks and strategies to prospect for business, much of which makes very little sense if we really think about it. We’re encouraged to assault others with sales pitches that would irritate the heck out of us if we were subjected to them. We’re taught to use cheesy scripts and pushy closing dialogues that we’d see coming a mile away. We’re told that we should Just Do It when it comes to prospecting, even if the “it” we’re supposed to be doing is something that makes our skin crawl, our eyes roll and our stomachs churn, all in the name of generating business.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to do anything to generate business that makes you feel uncomfortable, silly or even a little icky!

You CAN choose the methods you’ll use to build your business. As an adult human being, you can and should pick and choose among all the various strategies out there and select a few that suit you the best. The ones that suit YOU – wonderful, extraordinary, one-of-a-kind YOU who has unique strengths, talents, interests, goals and lifestyle!

And you know what else? You don’t have to try everything that’s suggested to you. If something doesn’t sound quite right to you – for whatever reason – you can and should reject the notion outright or tweak it until it does sound right and feel good.

When evaluating any prospecting activity to see if it’s right for you, just apply these three “tests” and see how the activity fares. If it fails any of the three, it’s not a good strategy for you. If it passes all three – you’ve just discovered a perfect prospecting strategy for YOU!

Is This Strategy One I’m Proud of and Excited about? Sometimes it seems we assume that by signing up for a program or hiring a coach, we’ll suddenly become a different person—someone who tomorrow will be excited and comfortable doing things that today seem kinda silly and cheesy. Even if our common sense is in there whispering to us that the approach we’re signing up for is wrong (for us), we insist on giving it a try, just in case we’re wrong about being wrong!

Bad plan. Before implementing any prospecting strategy, be darn sure that it’s something you’re jazzed up, revved up and fired up to do. And not because some superstar guru promised you the earth, moon and stars if you’ll just sign on the dotted line and turn over a chunk of your precious marketing budget. Only YOU can make the determination of whether you are proud of and excited about something; no one else can (or should) do that for you.

Is This a Strategy That Would Work on Me? If a particular strategy wouldn’t be effective with you, you probably won’t be able to pull it off with others. Never prospect for business using a strategy that you’d see right through. Show your prospects the respect that they are every bit as smart as you are and therefore deserve to be “prospected to” intelligently.

Does This Strategy Make Me Feel “Icky?” While feeling “icky” about a prospecting strategy goes along with doing things that wouldn’t work on you and that you aren’t proud of, it’s in a league all its own.

Feeling icky about any activity should be a clear indication that there’s something wrong with the activity (for you). But, often we’re told that that what we’re really feeling is fear, not ickiness. However, there’s a big difference between being reasonably nervous about something you haven’t done before and feeling icky about it. Your gut knows the difference. Trust it.

When you choose and use the right prospecting strategies for you, you’re proud of and excited about your prospecting efforts. You don’t feel like you have to apologize for, explain or defend them. You can’t wait to implement your latest approach and are looking forward to feedback from your audience. You have no real doubt that your audience will be receptive and responsive to your prospecting; in fact, you’re pretty sure they’ll get a kick out of it.

That’s how you know it’s right. When you’re excited about it. When you’re proud of it.

Guest Author Jennifer Allan-Hagedorn has authored multiple books and courses designed to teach agents her Sell with Soul philosophy that centers on four interrelated principles: Respect, Competence, Confidence and Enthusiasm. The latest release of her book is available in the VanEd bookstore. You can also visit her online at www.sellwithsoul.comor attend one of her free teleseminars on a variety of topics of interest to the real estate community.

December 14, 2012

Dear VanEd, I am in the middle of my own 1031 exchange and read in the 1031 Exchange course I am taking with you that the 180 day rule requiring me to complete the acquisition of my replacement property ends on the due date for my income taxes to be filed, but that is prior to the end of my 180 days! Is this correct? My closing is not scheduled until after I plan on filing my tax return for this year, so how do I handle this? And what do I tell a client who might be in the same situation?

Thanks for the help! -- Jordan

Jordan,

You are correct that the 180 days ends at either at midnight on the 180th day OR midnight on the due date for the income tax return for the year in which the property you relinquished occurs, whichever is earlier. However, there is something you can do that might help.

Before we continue, please remember that you should always seek appropriate legal and tax advice that directly relates to your own situation, and ALWAYS advise clients and customers to do the same. Nothing in this reply should be seen as legal or tax preparation advice. Seek counsel!

If you file an extension of your taxes using the appropriate extension form (should be the 4868 form) then you may be able to extend the date that your taxes are due to the IRS and thus extend the date that you have to complete the acquisition portion of your 1031 exchange.

The key point here is that you HAVE to file for the extension of your tax return due date in order to extend your acquisition date to get the full benefit of the 180 day rule. You cannot assume that you are automatically eligible to extend your taxes, you have to actually file for the extension. This extends your due date and should allow you to complete your 1031 exchange.

What happens if you don't extend your tax return filing deadline? Then you probably need to complete the acquisition of your new property prior to filing your tax return. The general rule is that you will not want to file your return until you complete your 1031 exchange.

Have questions or comments? Let us know! Send us an email at info@vaned.comAnd don't forget to follow the VanEd NewsLog, fan, like and link with us online!

The most successful people in Real Estate use VanEd. See what they say by clicking here.